Tag Archives: racism

Racism, alive and well

This is just a reminder to those that thought just because there is a black president, doesn’t mean that America has fully dealt with their issue with racism. Rick Sanchez of CNN interviews a member of the ‘National Socialist’ party, embrace for some ‘interesting’ logic.

Jasiri X – Blackface

Just getting caught up on Jasiri X as he is capturing the essence of how this thing called hip-hop got started; that is by reporting on the issues that affect the black/urban community via rap. Apparently he has weekly music videos that are a summation of the weekly events, this week in particular focuses on the re-emergence of ‘Blackface’ entertainment; as featured on CNN and YouTube.
Check out his YouTube channel here at http://www.youtube.com/user/jasirix

Nas delivers Fox News a message to their headquarters. The message is a petitions signed by over 600, 000 people claiming that Fox News spews propaganda and has been racist to the Obama family and to African Americans. The prime target in this speech by Nas is that of popular Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly; O’Reilly and Nas had some beef before as O’Reilly got Nas barred from performing at a Virgina Tech memorial concert a few years ago – inciting that Nas was a ‘gangsta rapper’. So I am sure Nas jumped at the opportunity to stick it to O’Reilly.

Nas also disses Fox News and O’Reilly on his latest album ‘Untitled’ with the song ‘Sly Fox’

What is more alarming than Fox News, Bill O’Reilly, and the rest of the ‘reporters’ they have, is the fact that Fox News have a huge following, so Fox is effectively ‘supplying’ a ‘demand’. And if the ‘demand’ knows that the supply is fulled with hate/racist attitudes, then the ‘demand’ group really needs to be looked at it – and feared.

I was told all about her;
Her nasty past – filled with chains, whips, confinement, guns;

She was troubled;
Filled with hate and fear for others, she built her self-esteem at the expense of others;
Breaking spirits, hopes, and dreams was synonymous with her name – as she rose to great powers;

Everyone wanted to have a piece of her though, a piece of her ‘dream’ – as her dream promised personal fulfillment for others whom worked hard and were dedicated;
For a long time, many were scared of her sight, her glare, her voice, her disdain for others;
She even separated herself from others – only to associate with those that resembled her;
And for those that were separated from her, were meant to feel below feces;
She enacted rules to sustain her behavior, guns to enforce her behavior, and persuasion & repetition to germinate her behavior;
However, the ‘goodness’ in man eventually led to a subside of her behavior;
And even thought her rules were gone, she had left a mark – a putrid stain that will never be forgotten;

Now, I don’t get her, she seems so different;
Giving hopes and dreams to those she views different, but the difference I can’t measure – don’t even no where to start;
As it appears she is allowing a pigment change over her deep-entrenched red heart;
Maybe she has changed for the good – a complete 180 of what she was before;
Or perhaps it’s a change that will only be understood with time – as no amount of money could provide solace to all she hurt;
But her change may be retribution enough to those that had lost all hope with her;
One man is testing how much she has changed or is changing;

She was lost, and maybe, just maybe she has been ‘found’ or is in the process ‘finding’ … only time will tell

This is nasty, the quiet video speaks volumes of how law enforcement treats black people. In this instance, in Philadelphia, cops drag out a fleeing suspect from his vehicle and a gang of cops take turns throwing in kicks & punches. Apparently it takes upwards to 10+ officers to take down two suspects. Philly already has to deal with one of the highest crime rates, poverty, and an unequal social system – so this event, doesn’t help the city of ‘brotherly love’.

A social response is necessary, violence/riots may not be the answer – protests and rallies may be useful, but how much can people take of this injustice? First Sean Bell, Jenna 6, and now this???

Marshall Walter (“Major”) Taylor (November 26, 1878–June 21, 1932) was an American cyclist who won the world one-mile track cycling championship in 1899, 1900, and 1901.

Taylor was the second black world champion in any sport, after boxer George Dixon. The Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a bicycle trail in Chicago are named in his honor. On July 24, 2006 the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, changed the name of part of Worcester Center Boulevard to Major Taylor Boulevard. His memory is honored not only for his athletic feats, but for his character. Taylor was a devout Christian who would not race on Sundays for much of his career, making his success all the more remarkable.

Taylor was born to a large family on a farm in rural Indiana to parents Gilbert Taylor and Saphronia Kelter, who had migrated from Louisville, Kentucky. He began as an entertainer at the age of thirteen. He was hired to perform cycling stunts outside a bicycle shop while wearing a soldier’s uniform, which resulted in the nickname “Major.”

As an African-American, Taylor was banned from bicycle racing in Indiana once he started winning and made a reputation as “The Black Cyclone.” In 1896, he moved from Indianapolis to Middletown, Connecticut, then a center of the United States bicycle industry with half a dozen factories and thirty bicycle shops, to work as a bicycle mechanic in the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company factory, owned by Birdie Munger who was to become his lifelong friend and mentor, and race for Munger’s team. His first east coast race was in a League of American Wheelmen one mile race in New Haven, where he started in last place but won. In late 1896, Taylor entered his first professional race in Madison Square Garden, where he lapped the entire field during the half-mile race. Although he is listed in the Middletown town directory in 1896, it is not known how long he still resided there after he became a professional racer. He eventually settled in Worcester, Massachusetts (where his nickname was naturally altered to “The Worcester Whirlwind”), marrying there and having a daughter, although his career required him to spend a large amount of time traveling, in America, Australia, and Europe.

Although he was greatly celebrated abroad, particularly in France, Taylor’s career was still held back by racism, particularly in the Southern states where he was not permitted to compete against Caucasians. The League of American Wheelmen also excluded blacks from membership. During his career he had ice water thrown at him during races and nails scattered in front of his wheels, and was often boxed in by other riders, preventing the sprints to the front of the pack at which he was so successful. In his autobiography, he reports actually being tackled on the race track by another rider, who choked him into unconsciousness but received only a $50 fine as punishment. Nevertheless, he does not dwell on such events in the book; rather it is evident that he means it to serve as an inspiration to other African-Americans trying to overcome similar treatment. Taylor retired at age 32 in 1910, saying he was tired of the racism. His advice to African-American youths wishing to emulate him was that while bicycle racing was the appropriate route to success for him, he would not recommend it in general; and that individuals must find their own best talent.

He was reported to have between $25,000 and $30,000 when he returned to Worcester at the end of his career, but lost it to bad investments (including self-publishing his autobiography), persistent illness, and the stock market crash. His marriage over, he died a pauper in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, survived by one daughter. In 1948 his body was moved to a marked grave in a more prominent section of Mount Glenwood Cemetery thanks to funding by Frank Schwinn. A monument to his memory is being planned for Worcester, and even Indianapolis has finally confronted its racist past by naming the city’s bicycle track after Taylor.

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Commentary:

Imagine getting respect for your skills and ability around the world, but at home, such skills are not even acknowledged, and such, you are treated inferior. I never heard of Major Taylor until recently, as it appears to be that he is a great black hero that is unknown by many … thus, spread the knowledge.

Frederick Douglas“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong”

Some background information on Frederick Douglass, excerpt from wikipedia.com:

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, who later became known as Frederick Douglass, was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland, near Hillsboro. He was separated from his mother, Harriet Bailey, when he was still an infant. She died when Douglass was about seven. The identity of Douglass’ father is obscure: Douglass originally stated that his father was a white man, perhaps his owner, Aaron Anthony; but he later said he knew nothing of his father’s identity. At the age of six, Douglass was separated from his grandmother and moved to the Wye House plantation, where Anthony worked as overseer.[1] When Anthony died, Douglass was given to Lucretia Auld, wife of Thomas Auld. Mrs. Auld sent Douglass to Baltimore to serve Thomas’ brother, Hugh Auld.
When Douglass was about twelve, Hugh Auld’s wife, Sophia, broke the law by teaching him some letters of the alphabet. Thereafter, as detailed in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (published in 1845), Douglass succeeded in learning to read from white children in the neighborhood in which he lived, and by observing the writings of the men with whom he worked. When Hugh Auld discovered this, he strongly disapproved, saying that if a slave learned to read, he would become dissatisfied with his condition and desire freedom; Douglass later referred to this as the first anti-abolitionist speech he had ever heard.
As he learned and began to read newspapers, political materials, and books of every description, the young Douglass was exposed to a new realm of thought and experience that led him first to question and then to condemn the institution of slavery itself. In later years, Douglass would credit The Columbian Orator, which he discovered when he was around twelve years old, with clarifying and defining his views of freedom and human rights.
When he was hired out to a Mr. Freeman, Douglass taught slaves how to read the New Testament at a Sabbath school on the plantation. As word spread, the interest among slaves in the local community was extensive enough that on any given week over forty slaves would attend lessons. For about six months, their work went relatively unnoticed. While Freeman himself remained complacent about their activities, other plantation owners became incensed that their slaves had been offered such instruction and burst in one Sunday armed with clubs and stones to disperse the congregation permanently.

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I just finished reading the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and it was a very good read, very sad at times with Douglass’ personal recollections of the horrid nature of slavery, but it was very informative. First off, Douglass is a Black History figure that doesn’t really get too much spotlight/coverage in ‘Black History Month'; for example, I was first aware of the man from a T-Shirt. After research, and then reading his book, Douglass was an extraordinary man (not just ‘Black man’) for his time. From teaching himself as a youngster to read and write (which was prohibited for black people) by secretly learning from white kids, and deceiving them to give him any reading/educational materials, to taking his literary knowledge and secretly holding classes for other black people (young & old), Douglass was a modern day renaissance as he knew that knowledge is power. Society in the south, and especially the slaveholders knew this, and would torment and violently whip any black slave who was trying to educate themselves. Mentally, slaveholders and the white racist society of that time, pulled the ultimate mind-f*ck on black people. I always knew this, didn’t really know to what extent and the details involved, but let me showcase some:

Slaveholders would actually be ‘generous’ enough to give slaves the holidays off until the New Year; so in a sense, slaves were literally ‘free’ during this time. However, the slaveholders would purposely intoxicate the slaves with cheap liquor, so much to the point that their little ‘freedom’ was heavily engulfed in a staggering/hangover state – which was supposed to convey that ‘freedom’ isn’t something that should be desired

Barbaric sports such as wrestling and boxing were encouraged by slaveholders

Reading was prohibited, as the belief was that an educated ‘slave’ can not handle education and will not know what is good for him, the master only knows what is good for a slave

Slaveholders never starved their slaves; actually they made it known that they always gave their slaves plenty of food, the food was equivalent to slop, but it was in mass abundance

When black women gave birth, the slaveholders separated the child from its mother from a young age so that the child can not develop attachment and affection to its mother, but rather develop attachment to the slave owner

Some of the things that were done to black people were not just dehumanizing, but it was conditioning; in the sense of it altered the way people behaved, think, and responded. This happened all from the 1700’s to mid-late 1800’s, this conditioning was passed down with each black generation. Even after slavery was abolished, this conditioning, and more importantly, the society, was still segregated and there was a hatred/inferiority complex that existed by certain populations.

Fast forward to the current state of black people in America, and the question must be asked, when/if will the conditioning that black people have succumbed to, will subside? How much generations will it take? I mean, we have definitely made progressed, we are doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, politicians, but there are huge numbers that still have that ‘slave’ mentality that end up in jail, commit crimes, are against the ‘system’, don’t educate themselves, and so on.

Nostalgia is defined as the state of being homesick; a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or or irrecoverable condition. Well, that is what is defined in the Webster dictionary, and we all have feelings of nostalgia when we hear a certain song, watch a movie, or read a certain magazine or article. I was talking recently with an older lady at my workplace in her 50’s/60’s about seafood or something; something dealing about cooking (don’t ask why we were talking about that) and that conversation triggered nostalgia for her and took her back to a time of racial/social injustice in 1960/1970’s U.S.A. (don’t be shocked), specifically to the coastline towns of Massachusets. I won’t get into the socio-racism part, because it is nothing new, but what triggered the memory for her was a diner in this coastal town that served up all kinds of seafood and delicacies – which actually was a positive memory for her as she recalled her friends and all of the good times she had there, but it seemed that she was looking at the ‘optimistic side’ of her memory as she didn’t get into it deeply, but she recalled the overt and non-overt racism that was still fresh in the air. Looking at her face, she was deeply affected by this instance of nostalgia as she was a little emotional and overwhelmed – but she was trying to focus on the ‘good’, even though the ‘bad’ was much more emotionally moving.

After this event, I asked myself if it is possible that people try to create their own nostalgia – especially from negative and tormenting experiences. I imagine that they’re a whole generation of peoples that have created their own nostalgia that focuses on the positivity – that is wrapped in a cocoon of hate, discrimination, and prejudice. I guess this is a coping mechanism for us to deal with the deep pain, hurt and suffering that some have experienced during this thing called life – I can’t recall that I have done such thing, consciously speaking, but maybe I will know when I hear that classic song or read a certain book. I want to see if I will create my nostalgia; or if I will allow my nostalgia to embody its true form.

In the black community, there is a strong disdain for law enforcement. Historically, the law enforcement has enforced the racist and segregation laws of the government. Thus, it is only fitting that the black community did not trust and/or respect law enforcement (since it wasn’t being reciprocated). Out of this frustration grew the Black Panther Party, which was an organization of individuals (primarily black) who ‘policed’ their own community; which is somewhat noble, however we all know what happened to the black panther party (google it if you are unaware). Even the Crips, the notorious gang out of Westside L.A. that now spawns the world in crip blue attire, started off as a child (not literally, but metaphorically) from the Black Panther Party; the Crips had a mandate to initiate social change in their community – however, the allure of drugs trumped that ideology.

So it can be said that from generation to generation, has attitudes and behaviors are passed down from parent to child, it is not hard to understand that even up to this very day, the black community, specifically the young black community have a strong disdain for police. Movements such as ‘Stop Snitching’ are not just a slogan on a T-shirt, but the Stop snitching campaign represents a concept that is shared by many.

What I find funny, and let me know if this has happened to you, is that some of my friends whom claim that cops are always harassing and ‘racially profiling’ them are the same individuals that actually engage in illegal activities and/or have been involved in the legal system before. Has this ever happened to you?